Detroit Metblogs » det_ray

Dingell’s Little Holiday Jingle – The ‘War on Christmas’ hits the home front

det_ray — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 21:45:52 +0000

Glad to see that Rep. John Dingell was able to poke a bit of fun at everybody’s “fair and balanced” news network with the following poem he read from the House floor:

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House
No bills were passed

Super Bowl XL: Welcome To Detroit

det_ray — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 10:45:29 +0000

Has anyone taken a look at the “Welcome to Detroit” video on the front page of the SBXL Host Committe Website? What do people think about it? Do we think the right compromise between showing off the city and lowering expectation was reached? Is there more they should be doing to appropriately show off the jewels this city and this region have to show? Let us know!

Jimmy Kimmel: Live from the D

det_ray — Mon, 05 Dec 2005 13:03:12 +0000

Anyone interested in getting tickets to ~~heckle~~ cheer on his newly-found pro-Detroit enthusiasm, should feel free to head on over to the Gem Theatre’s site for ticket information on his week-long string of live performances during the Super Bowl festivities.
If you don’t remember little Jimmy, here’s a reminder.

Where’s the halftime R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

det_ray — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 09:10:18 +0000

It’s nice to see the Detroit Newspapers begin to take notice of debates popping up in the blogosphere and realize…hey…maybe there are some things we missed here. Issue one in that debate is that it took TWO days for someone at the Freep or News to realize “wait a second…you mean we have our own talent from Detroit that could be playing during halftime of the Super Bowl?” In fact, the reporting out of both of our Daily papers looked more like the News’ article than any kind of criticism.
Although the Rolling Stones are a great band, the Super Bowl folks along with the network really should have looked for a way to incorporate the musical culture of the community the Super Bowl is located in. I understand that sponsors want to keep people tuned in, but…how much more would people be tuned in by a central theme that runs throughout the night? As it is, if you are under the age of 30…you are probably going to switch the channel during halftime to a channel like MTV.
Well, this argument, that Detroit’s musical heritage should have played a higher role, was picked up in the blogoshpere AS SOON as the press release was out on the street…in forums like DetroitYes and it’s younger and bawdier protege, HotFudgeDetroit. Why it took the traditional media two days to echo said argument…that’s the real question. Especially given that the last time the Super Bowl was held in Metro Detroit, in 1982 at the Silverdome (Please try not to re-mention the debacle that was a snowstorm and Vice-President Bush creating a perfect storm of traffic for miles) the halftime theme was ‘A Salute to the 60’s and Motown’, wouldn’t it make sense to follow along that same vein? What do y’all think? If you had your choice, who would be performing?

Detroit’s Architecture: “Oz with the lights out!”

det_ray — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 04:28:57 +0000

The Metro Times’ Rebecca Mazzei has a great article up today on a new book on Detroit’s architecture, called American City: Detroit Architecture, 1845-2005. The book, written by a Chicago duo enamored with all of Detroit’s architectural glory, highlights many of the architects who helped make Detroit’s skyline a reality, and after reading some excerpts I now know why everyone over in the DetroitYes forum gets into such a tizzy over what I used to believe was a simple building demolition. These buildings have a heart, a soul and on the rooftops of some of them, they appear to be sprouting a tree or little baseball players.
The book is of course a great read, but so is Mazzei’s article, which provides some stunning pictures of some of Detroit’s greatest landmarks. Check out the article and then check out the book at your local bookstore ASAP!